Our weekly temperature-taking of the mainstream media’s opinions on the Washington Capitals:
| Outlet | This Week | Last Week | What They’re Saying |
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3 | 2 |
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3 | 4 | Caps are the league’s best home team and equaling the pace they set last year en route to the Presidents’ Trophy. |
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2 | 4 | Got to say I’m pretty pumped for the 24/7 Road to the Winter Classic series on HBO after watching Mike Knuble talk about the 200 stitches he’s had administered to his face during his NHL career. |
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– | – | Pending. |
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3 | 2 | Poor goaltending, sloppy play with the puck, failing to shut teams down at crunch time … the Caps already are in playoff mode. |
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3 | 5 | The Caps looked better against the Flyers after a soft outing in Atlanta the previous night. Just one regulation loss in their past 11 games. Both Alexes (Ovechkin and Semin) are hot right now. |
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2 | 3 | The high-scoring Capitals picked up three of a possible six points last week. Jason Chimera was a big part of Washington’s success in Week 7, posting four points off one goal and three assists. |
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2 | 3 | Alexander Semin on pace for career offensive season in contract year. What a surprise! |
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4 | 5 | Capitals are 6-2-2 in their last 10 but are losing some games they shouldn’t. |
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1 | – | Craig Custance goes on the record – and goes on video. Those were the days my friend. |
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– | 1 |
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1 | 1 | This team is not hitting on all cylinders yet and goaltending remains an issue, but it sure can score goals. |
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4 | 4 | Is Alexander Ovechkin hurt? In the last five games, he has 12 shots on goal, his lowest five-game total since a five-game stretch in February 2007 (also 12 shots) and he hasn’t had a five-game span in his entire career with fewer than 12 shots on goal. Key Injuries: G Semyon Varlamov (groin), Tom Poti (lower body). |
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– | 2 | Pending. |
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– | 1 | Biweekly listing. Update next week. |
Click on logos for links to full power rankings.
